China, Russia must help resolve North Korea crisis, Canada’s President Trudeau says
Two countries have an important role to play in moving towards peace on the Korean peninsula, leader says ahead of foreign ministers’ meeting
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China and Russia, despite not being invited to a conference in Canada on the North Korea crisis, must help defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.
Canada and the United States will co-host foreign ministers from more than a dozen countries in Vancouver from Monday to Wednesday, with the goal of strengthening diplomatic efforts towards denuclearising the Korean peninsula.
Trudeau said Canada “looks forward” to engaging with international partners at the summit.
“At the same time, we will continue the ongoing dialogue with all partners, including countries like Russia and China who absolutely will play an important role in moving towards peace on the Korean peninsula,” he said.
The so-called Vancouver Group is formed by the countries that fought in the 1950-53 Korean war. They include South Korea, Britain, the Philippines and Australia.
“We all know that the international community is playing an extremely important role in defusing, de-escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula,” Trudeau said.
“Continued dialogue and many different venues is going to be the path forward.”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said when the summit was announced in December that the meeting would seek to increase pressure on North Korea to negotiate an end to its nuclear programme.
